Monthly Archives: October 2013

In a surprise move, it has been announced that GP3 racer Daniil Kvyat will join Jean-Eric Vergne at the Toro Rosso team next season.

Only 19 years old, Kvyat has impressed in his debut year in GP3, so much so that he is only 7 points off the lead with one race weekend to go. His move to Toro Rosso appears to be a snub towards Antonio da Felix Costa, who was widely tipped to take the seat.

Also in contention was Carlos Sainz Jr, whose agents were seen in negotiations with Red Bull’s squad in recent months. However, the decision has been made to sign what will be the youngest driver in F1 history, unless Sergey Sirotkin races with Sauber next season.

Kvyat has previously performed well in Formula Renault 2.0 championships and this year’s European F3 series, but many would feel that he needs another year in GP3 or Formula Renault 3.5 to get used to top-tier motorsport. Nevertheless, it will be hugely interesting to see how such a young driver fares in a Red Bull-sponsored car. The last driver to do this with this much controversy over his age was Kimi Raikkonen…

Jules Bianchi will continue to drive for the Marussia team in the 2014 season, the team confirmed today.

The Frenchman was tipped to be in contention for a Force India or Sauber drive, but has instead opted to stay put. He is only the second Marussia/Virgin driver not to be dropped in their first year since the team was formed in 2010.

He remains part of the Ferrari development programme, and seeing as Marussia will switch to Ferrari engines next year, Bianchi staying on board seemed to be a done deal.

Jules today praised the team, and stated he was hopeful for improvements into 2014:

"I couldn’t have wished for a more supportive environment in which to make my F1
debut and from the very beginning I have always felt completely at home with the team.
We started the season very well and while the challenge has increased as the season
has developed, we have learned important lessons together that will place us in a
much stronger position next year when there are a lot of changes for the sport and
the team to get used to."